As insidious as the notion
that the universe is pulling for us
can be — always putting slippery faith

into visions of intervention
slipping under doors, bleeding through cracks
to fill desperate holes within —

so too is the evil of believing
that it never pulls for us at all.
Choosing to forget we’re part of it

with a part in it that might require
our continued presence
is a denial and a mistake.

I don’t need personalized divinity
to explain it, or an Almighty God
to define it.

All I need: the notion
of living as a purpose in itself —
my choices as my choices, but not detached

from all others.  I don’t know
what to call it.  No one really knows.
We simply practice like mad for what it might be.